I Smell Snow

It’s frickin freezing! I have two heaters on around me and it is not making a dent. My toes are icy. Mmmm, lovely lovely tea is helping slightly. As are the minty After Eight style sticks I am munching on that are left over from Xmas. Apparently there has been flake-age in the North and it ’should’ hit us any time today. Of course, we know what that means, at the merest hint of snow the transport system shuts down or at least moves at a snail’s pace. You’d think we’d have got used to it by now, it is England for goodness sake.

Anyway, I am back at work. Counting the days til the weekend/my next holiday. I spent New Year’s Day battling ’spirits’ in Zelda land. Knowing I wouldn’t sleep anyway (any excuse), I stayed up til 12.30 am, then realised I’d been sitting in the same position for far too long when I unfolded my body and it creaked in protest. Ouch.

Yesterday I had a day off from slaying in the evening and went back to knitting, determined as I am to be good at this bloody thing. Anyway, I have an order for a scarf now, so I have to focus and make it look damn good. I really want to make a hat (which I will need if it does reach -8 as predicted. Surely not?), but think that’s a little way off yet.

Hmm, the sky looks ominously white…

Ho Ho Ho

I am back in London, my time at home was very relaxing and it’s a bit of a shame to be back in all the hustle and bustle, but while Christmas may be over for some, I had one gift awaiting me when I got back. And it is this:

Oh happy happy joy joy!!! The gift was the DS, I just got the game myself, and figured I’d better write this now or I would be lost to Brain Training forever. Isn’t it pretty? Now I need more games. What are good games? A game I used to love for my PC was Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars. I like ones where you have to solve puzzles and stuff to move on (even if the main character for that was well annoying). Well, I say like. I get very frustrated when I can’t to it and had to download the cheats for that one when I got stuck. Will have a look online at what there is.

Moving on from DS talk, to my knitting. Here is a picture of my first attempt:

It’s a scarf. I would say ‘obviously’, but is it obvious? I don’t know. It’s not quite as pretty as the DS, and there are a couple of dropped stitches and threads I need to tidy, but I am enjoying doing it and I think I’m getting better. I’d like to be able to knit a jumper already but must have patience. Of course now my time is torn between the DS and this. My hands will be busy anyway.

Last night I watched While You Were Sleeping for about the 30th time, though I fell asleep before one of my favourite speeches:

Lucy: The truth was that I fell in love with you.
Ox: You fell in love with me?
Lucy: No, N-o, yes. All of you. I went from being all alone to being a fiancee, a daughter a granddaughter, a sister and a friend.

Luckily I woke up in time for my absolute favourite last line: “Peter once asked me when I fell in love with Jack. And I told him, “It was while you were sleeping.”

Aww. Now I’m afraid I’m going to go play my DS. It has been nice knowing you all.

Knitting Pretty

I am knitting. Oh yes. I am a knitter. A knitting fiend if you will. All right, I can just about knit, but I will rock I tell you. Soon it will be jumpers all the way, and no more of this scarf nonsense. Hmm, well, it may be a scarf…I am not fantastic.

So, back track. I decided I wanted to learn how to knit. It seemed like a really nice idea, making things from scratch, and lots of people seemed to be doing it. I used to knit when I was little with my Grandma, but I don’t think I ever technically finished anything, and such knowledge as how to cast on is lost after a decade of not using it. Actually I probably never knew how to do that in the first place, and even after several lessons I’m not quite there.

The other night I asked Mum to show me how to knit, and so she went in search of the wool and needles she was sure were in the house somewhere. She came back with wool but no needles. And so, what does every good mum do in such a situation? Improvise. She had some chopsticks and painstakingly attempted to get me to understand this casting on business. Huh. Turns out my crap coordination affects my knitting. I blamed the ‘needles’. Next day we got some proper ones and she showed me again, and how to knit, and purl even. Get me.

Now, I may not be good at many things, but I am a true magician when it comes to knitting. I can create stitches out of thin air. Yep. I started with 9 and finished with 14. I didn’t even know that was possible! Apparently, it is, and I am truly gifted at it. I’m sure I’ll get better with practice, right?